Inside the room, Bai Ran slowly approached the spiritual coffin. Her head was swimming, and she was so exhausted she could barely lift it, feeling as though she would collapse at any moment.
However, using the Clone Soul Condensing Art required intense focus. If there was even the slightest mistake, her mother’s soul would not only fail to coalesce but would scatter completely.
This was her only chance. If she missed it, her mother would have no possibility of being saved.
Bai Ran lowered her gaze, her eyes complex and heavy. Perhaps the most sensible course of action would be to rest first and then attend to her mother’s healing tomorrow, once she was re-energized.
But…
Bai Ran’s pupils trembled slightly. Although her mother’s body was preserved in the spiritual coffin, and a special array was set up in the room to prevent decay, many years had passed since her mother’s death. No matter how carefully her body was preserved, her internal organs would inevitably deteriorate.
No one knew to what extent these organs would have decayed by tomorrow. Perhaps in just this short span of one day, some organs that could have been salvaged might become unusable.
Bai Ran clenched her fist, biting hard on her tongue. The metallic taste filled her mouth, forcing her to stay alert.
She knelt down. Despite her pale face, her hands were steady as she opened the spiritual coffin.
“Mother… Ranran will definitely revive you successfully…”
The path she had walked was arduous and winding. Now, with a bright future approaching, Bai Ran would not allow herself to make any mistakes at this crucial juncture.
Inside the room, a massive ancient totem array materialized, as black as ink, interspersed with blood-red threads like fine veins.
The spiritual coffin rested at the center of the array. Bai Ran took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, striving to maintain her composure.
“Wandering soul, where do you linger—”
A small, ethereal blue flame suddenly flared up beside the spiritual coffin.
“Heaven clear, earth spirit, all souls before—”
A second ethereal blue flame ignited.
The spiritual energy in her dantian was being rapidly depleted. The rate was so fast that after uttering just two incantations, she already felt extremely strained.
Bai Ran gritted her teeth and continued the spell: “Incantations adhered to… Yin and Yang energies…”
A third flame rose, forming an arc around the spiritual coffin.
By the time she finished speaking, Bai Ran’s voice had become hoarse, like that of a ninety-year-old woman.
“Six elements in harmony…”
Bai Ran parted her lips, her mouth trembling: “Different paths… same destination…”
A fourth small flame slowly appeared.
The moment she finished speaking, Bai Ran spat out a mouthful of blood. Her vision began to blur, and her spiritual energy was completely exhausted.
*Must persevere…*
Even at the cost of everything, she had to complete the incantation now.
Bai Ran’s eyes shot up. Her ink-black pupils instantly turned crimson.
Her essence blood burned, causing a surge of spiritual energy in her barren dantian. The price was excruciating pain throughout her body, as if her meridians were shattered, forcing a suppressed groan from her.
“Gather and scatter… peril…”
“Illumination method… adherence…”
The fifth flame appeared. Only the last one remained.
*Thump—*
At this very moment, Bai Ran’s pupils trembled. A sharp pain suddenly seized her heart, and blood began to flow from her seven orifices.
Her already weak body swayed precariously, looking utterly terrifying.
“Cough… Damn it…” Bai Ran quickly took out silver needles and precisely inserted them into vital acupoints on her body.
The last one… the very last one…
As long as she finished it, her mother would regain her vitality.
“Cough cough!” She coughed up another mouthful of blood, and Bai Ran’s knees buckled, collapsing onto the ground.
She lowered her head, dark circles beneath her eyes, blood streaming from her seven orifices, her lips deathly pale.
Five ethereal blue flames flickered, seeming on the verge of extinguishing. Compared to Huan Yan, Bai Ran herself appeared more perilous at this moment.
…
Outside, sensing the immense fluctuation of spiritual energy, Long Jinhan and Mo Huai’an rushed over. A crowd had already gathered outside the room.
“Ranran is inside?!” Mo Huai’an anxiously rushed towards Jing Feng.
Jing Feng pursed his lips and slowly nodded. “She’s inside…”
Long Jinhan’s brow furrowed, his handsome features etched with coldness. He suspected that the moment the girl emerged from the room, they would have arrived.
The Clone Soul Condensing Art was not inherently complex, but the most difficult aspect was controlling the direction and burning of the flames.
The six flames represented the six *po* souls of a person. If the ethereal blue flames wavered even slightly, or extinguished for an instant, the three *hun* souls would also completely dissipate.
Conversely, if the six *po* souls were successfully recalled, the three *hun* souls would return, and Huan Yan would be successfully revived.
Everything depended on the flames. However, sustaining these flames required immense mental power and spiritual energy.
The Clone Soul Condensing Art actually served to expand the cultivator’s dantian, enabling it to store more spiritual energy.
But…
Long Jinhan’s expression turned extremely grim. To expand the dantian sufficiently to revive Huan Yan would require at least half a year of cultivation, perhaps even longer.
And the young girl had only cultivated for barely half a month… Was she worried about Huan Yan’s body deteriorating?
…
“Cough…”
The last one…
Inside the room, Bai Ran’s throat was clogged with blood, yet she still trembled, continuing to speak.
“Fortune… and misfortune… matters…”
“Cough cough!” She covered her mouth, coughing, her face covered in blood, her chest heaving violently.
“Listen to my…”
“Affirmation…”
The sixth flame, under the gaze of Bai Ran’s crimson eyes, finally appeared.
Six ethereal blue flames formed a circle, enclosing the spiritual coffin.
Six methods achieved, departed soul returns—
As the ancient totem array pulsed with dim light, the blood-red threads rapidly spread, reaching into the spiritual coffin.
At this point, Bai Ran could no longer hold on. With a *thump*, she collapsed onto the ground.
“Cough.” Her eyelids felt heavy, but she forced herself to watch as the array took effect, as the six flames surged into the spiritual coffin.
Even with the bone-gnawing pain, the bleeding from her seven orifices, and the complete exhaustion of her essence blood, she managed a smile as she looked at the figure slowly sitting up within the spiritual coffin.
“So good…”
A single, crystal tear rolled down from the corner of her eye. Bai Ran slowly closed her eyes.
Life and death, unknown.
…
“Get out of the way—” Killing intent emanated from Long Jinhan, his terrifying pressure making everyone present feel a chill.
Xiao Zi stood guard before the door, staring coldly at the person before her, yielding not an inch.
“Demon Lord, do you not know the consequences of disturbing the little spirit at this moment?”
“I will not repeat myself—”
On his ear, a crimson earring pulsed with an unprecedented, terrifying red light, as if warning Long Jinhan that Bai Ran’s life force was gradually fading.
“Impossible.” Xiao Zi confronted Long Jinhan.